Compare and Contrast of the effects of imperialism of the west on Africa and India

Jules Ferry once said "In order for a country to be great, she must show her influence throughout the world and carry everywhere she can her language, her customs, her flag, her arms, and her genius." This quote is the perfect example of the views of an imperialist nation. From 1750-1914 Western civilizations dominated the world by enforcing their culture and systems upon weaker nations. Regions such as Africa, the Middle East, India, and Africa were severely impacted positively and negatively by the imperialism of the west. Two of those cultures that were affected in a very similar way during this time period by the effects of imperialism were Africa and India. In both places wars and violence occurred but new technologies were brought by the west that helped improved the civilizations. However Africa and India responded differently to the way the west imposed there economic, social and political ways upon the people.

From 1870 to 1890 a very important event occurred known as the "Scramble for Africa". European powers attempted to acquire as much African territory as they could get there hands on. Men such as King Leopold the Second of Belgium singed treaties with local chiefs that granted them personal control over the land. He exploited the Africans living in the Congo River valley for there labor. He forced them to collect sap from rubber plants as well as other back breaking work. The people were over taxed and abused. This operation benefited the Belgium economy greatly but added nothing but poverty to the African economy. In 1884 the German Chancellor Bismarck organized the Berlin Conference in order to divide up Africa in a civilized matter between Great Britain, France, Germany, Belgium, Portugal, and Italy. Some of the positive effects of this western imperialism were the new technologies such as medicine and nutrition that were brought to Africa. This increased life-span and resulted in a population expansion. Transportation and communication...

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

...Compare and Contrast old and new imperialism
New Imperialism of the late 19th and early 20th centuries compared to Old Imperialism of the 16th and 17th centuries. Imperialism is the spread of control over territories across the globe. The Industrial Revolution and interests in nationalism created a new period of imperialism around 1750. Old imperialism lasted from 1450- 1750, but imperialism alone remained until 1914.Old imperialism and new imperialism shared the same basic concept of controlling and utilizing foreign countries. Old imperialism focused mainly on systems of trade while new imperialism took bolder steps to overtaking nations. Old Imperialism was the period from 1450-1750
-Powers were motivated by “gold, glory, and God”
-Gold referred to the wealth (precious metals and valuable merchandise) that the newly discovered lands promised to deliver
-Glory described the pride a monarch of Europe felt in laying claim to new land
-Gospel was a reference to the desire of European powers to 'bring heathens to Christ
- Old Imperialism was driven by Mercantilism-is the economic doctrine in which government control of foreign trade is of paramount importance for ensuring the prosperity and military security of the state. In particular, it demands a positive...

...Explain what is meant by the term imperialism.
Discuss the causes of imperialism in the 1800s.
Kamar Findlay
ID# 092165839
Mico University College
Imperialism in Africa
Mrs. Pitter
October 29, 2011
Imperialism is "the creation and or maintenance of an unequal economic, cultural, and territorial relationship, usually between states and often in the form of an empire, based on domination and subordination" (Johnston, 2000.p.375). In its simplest form Farah and Karls (2001) describes imperialism as one country’s domination of the political, economical and social life of another country. The Europeans imperialism during the 1800s occurs out of the advantages of strong economies, well organized governments and powerful armies and navies. ‘Superior technology including riverboats and telegraph, as well as improved medical knowledge also played a part’ (Esler et al 2009.p.752). Advances such as the Maxim Machines Guns and steam driven warships were very strong signals in persuading the Africans and Asian to accept European domination.
European imperialism did not begin in the 1800s. European states have had empires in the Americas after 1492 and in South Asia and China. Imperialism has been found in the histories of Japan, the Assyrian Empire, the Chinese Empire, the Roman Empire, Greece, the Persian Empire, and the Ottoman Empire, ancient...

...Section 1: A Scramble For Africa
• European nations needed to fuel industrial production
• Competed for new markets for goods and took huge interest in Africa
• Imperialism- Seizure of a country or territory by a stronger country
o Occurred throughout most of Africa
o Europe came in and dominated
• Mid 1800’s Africans divided into ethnic and linguistic groups
• Some converted to Islam and Christianity
• Most kept traditions and religion
• For 400 years African army able to keep Europeans out
• Until late 1800’s Europe only dominated coast of Africa
• Couldn’t navigate rivers
• Disease also kept them out
• Specialized trade networks
• Introduction of steam powered river boats allowed Europeans to dominate more of Africa’s interior
• Those who did get in were against slave trade
• People learned about Africa through their publications
The Congo Sparks Interest:
• Dr. David Livingstone traveled with group of Africans into deep Africa to promote Christianity
• Several years past and people thought he was dead
• Henry Stanley went to find him and succeeded
• Stanley wanted to trace course of Congo River
• In 1879 and 1882 Stanley signed treaties with local chiefs of the Congo River Valley
• Gave King Leopold II of Belgium control of these lands
• Leopold II claimed...

...such as Africa, the Middle East, and India were severely impacted positively and negatively by the imperialism of the west. Two of those cultures that were affected in a very similar way during this time period by the effects of imperialism were Africa and India. In both places wars and violence occurred but new technologies were brought by the west that helped improved the civilizations. However Africa and India responded differently to the way the west imposed there economic and social ways upon the people.
Now focusing in Asia and Africa, rather than the Western Hemisphere, were colonial conquests. This featured a number of new countries-Germany, Italy, Belgium, the United States, and Japan-who just became involved in the colonial conquests. The Spanish and Portuguese only played minor roles. In mainland Asia and Africa, the 19th century European conquests nowhere had as devastating results as did on the Native Americans. The European colonial conquests were conditioned by Europe’s Industrial Revolution.
During the period of 1750-1914, Western intervention was a common thing as European states began to believe that imperial expansion and colonial domination were crucial for the survival of their states and societies as well as their personal fortunes. India and...

...Imperialism in AfricaImperialism is defined as one country's domination of the political, economic, and social life of another country. In Africa in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, imperialism was present and growing. The main countries involved in the imperialism in Africa were the French, German, and Great Britain. The French's empire was mainly in North and WestAfrica while Britain's colonies were scattered throughout the continent. Germany ruled over such countries as Tanganyika, Togoland, and Cameroon, until their defeat in World War I.
There were many reasons for the European countries to be competing against each other to gain colonies in Africa. One of the main reasons may be that Europeans believed that the more territory a country was able to control, the more powerful and important they were believed to be. Other reasons for countries to be competing include the many natural resources that could only be found in Africa and a need for markets in surrounding places so that manufactured goods could be sold for a large profit.
When the European manufacturing plants were built, the raw materials from Africa were extracted and the company owners developed and indigenous labor force, which was managed by foreigners. This all lead to the Africans being taken over by the foreigners. A poem...

...Examine the economic arguments used to explain the partition of WestAfrica.
In the late 1880s, only limited areas of Africa were subjected to the direct rule of Europeans. However, the next 20 years saw an increase in the confiscation of African colonies by the Europeans and by 1914 the partition of Africa had been consolidated. By 1914, with the exception of Ethiopia and Liberia, the whole of Africa had been partitioned and occupied by the imperial powers of France, Britain, Germany, Portugal, Belgium, Spain and Italy, and colonialism was implemented. However, by 1918 Germany lost its African colonies and they were distributed among the other European powers. Lenin and Hobson both argue that the partition of westAfrica was highly economically motivated. These two scholars economic motives are somewhat similar to each other but Lenin argues more firmly that the crisis was one of finance capital and the development of "monopoly capitalism / oligopoly capitalism". In addition, it may be interpreted that though the partition of WestAfrica can be seen as largely for economic motives, it is acknowledge that there were other factors, which led to the partitioning of WestAfrica.
The French conquered most of the territory of WestAfrica. They established control over the...

...1. What was new imperialism?
New Imperialism refers to the colonial expansion adopted by Europe's powers and, later, Japan and the United States, during the 19th and early 20th centuries; from the Franco-Prussian War to World War I The period is distinguished by an unprecedented pursuit of what has been termed "empire for empire's sake," aggressive competition for overseas territorial acquisitions and the emergence in colonizing .
2. Define the white man’s burden and the scramble for Africa?
The white man’s burden was a term used to describe when the Europeans decided to colonize Africa and then went on to spread the Christian religion and spread the idea of democracy to the heathens of the African continent. The Scramble for Africa, also known as the Race for Africa, was the proliferation of conflicting European claims to African territory during the New Imperialism period, between the 1880s and World War I in 1914.
3. What were the criticisms of the New Imperialism?
The negative effect of new imperialism was the fact that Africa was divided among the natural boundaries and not by the cultural boundaries affecting Africa in the long run and also stripping Africa of all their natural resources and destroyed their government.
4. How did the Berlin Conference affect...

...China and India
China and India were both very advanced ancient civilizations. Both agricultural based civilizations made various technological advances. Although China and India shared many similarities, they had differences such as the social system, politics, and the importance of trade in the economy.
The hierarchy of ancient China and India were similar with a noticeable sign of select individuals being considered “higher” then others. The caste system was strict in India and prohibited other classes from interacting with each other. China’s social system differed from India’s caste system, by not demonstrating a formal and strict social ladder. Where in India there existed over three hundred subcastes at one point, China had a simple three caste social ladder. Although the Chinese did not have as strong of a social ladder, there still existed “higher” people such as the bureaucrats. Bureaucrats and landowners were considered to be of a higher class then peasants, farmers, and merchants. Patriarchy was a very big factor in culture and social order in China and India. India’s strict caste system led to a more “flexible” and popular religion known as Hinduism. Many Indians preferred this religion over Buddhism, which the Chinese practiced, because the brahmans or priests strongly influenced the population. Brahmans and many other Indians did not like the idea of any being...